Logroño

General information

Logroño is a city rich in history and traditions which have been preserved since the Middle Ages. The Pilgrim’s Route to Santiago de Compostela made this one of the most important towns on the route, leaving an interesting monumental legacy closely linked to the traditional passing of the pilgrims.

Logrono was the “Vareia” of the Romans, quoted by old geography experts as a stop in the Via from Italia to Spain. The city still has a lot of ruins.

Sancho Abarca, king of Navarre, settle in the city to guarantee the access to the fields won by the Muslims in the battle of Clavijo. A new population settles on the other side of the river, the felt side. A palace for the kings of Navarre is built in 1044 in the rúa Vieja, the main street.

In 1095, la Rioja is in the hands of Alfonso VI, king of Castile. He granted Logrono a charter of rights in which it states the free circulation on the bridge.

In the XIII century, walls are built around the city. The castle will be demolished in the XVIII century.

 

Monuments of Logroño

The museum is situated in Espartero Palace, an 18th-century Baroque construction. It exhibits paintings and sculptures from the 12th-19th centuries, as well as objects in ivory and silver. There is a section dedicated to ethnography, and another to contemporary art.

Sta. Mª de La Redonda Procathedral

Built over an ancient Romanesque temple from the 12th century, the building dates from the 16th century. It was declared Collegiate Church when it merged with San Martin de Albelda Church, in 1453. The building has undergone several modifications in the sixteenth, eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. It was declared a procathedral in 1959. It has three naves and three polygonal apses. Inside there are several chapels and many tombs. On the outside, its twin towers, built by Martín de Berriatúa, are noteworthy.

San Bartolomé Church

The church was built in the 18th century and restored in the 15th. The church has three naves, separated by polygonal pillars, in which the transept in particular stands out. The sanctuary is Romanesque, formed by a central, semicircular apse with a barrel vault. The majority of the construction along with the facade is Gothic. The facade is noted for its iconographs that describe the episodes of the life of San Bartolomé. The Mudejar tower is quite striking.

Santa María de Palacio Church

The church is called like this because it was built on the foundation of a palace donated by Alfonso VII of Castile. It is also known as “La Aguja” or “La Imperial”. The church was founded in the 11th century, but reconstructed in the 12th and extended in the 16th. The church has three naves finishing in abbatial chapels. Over the transept the octagonal cupola rises, that on the outside extends to the pyramidal Gothic style tower.

Parque Natural de la Sierra de Cebollera

This is one of the best preserved regions as far as fauna, and especially, its excellent forest areas are concerned. The park is surrounded by the central mountains of the Northern Iberian Mountain Range, in the region of Cameros, on the border of the province of Soria. In this protected space, there are some of the best examples of forests in the Iberian Mountain Range. The most outstanding natural forests are of wild pine, beech and Pyrenean oak groves, and other more exceptional species such as birches, groves of white oak and hooked pine. Lime trees, maple trees, mountain elms, yew trees, quaking aspen and ash trees also appear. Among the mammals, it is worth mentioning species such as the fox, wild boar, deer, squirrel and mountain cat in the forests, and otter and Pyrenean muskat in the rivers. There are numerous species of forest birds of prey, such as the goshawk, the sparrowhawk, the booted eagle, the common buzzard and the short-toed eagle. Nocturnal birds can also be observed such as the long-eared owl and the tawny owl. The sierra is considered to be an area of international importance for the passage of migratory birds.

WINES

Rioja is a wine, with Denominación de Origen Calificada Rioja (Protected designation of origin), from a region named after the Rio Oja in Spain, a tributary of the Ebro. Rioja is made from grapes grown in the autonomous communities of La Rioja and Navarre and the Basque province of Álava. La Rioja is further subdivided into three zones (in rising order of warmth) Rioja Alavesa, Rioja Alta and Rioja Baja. Rioja Alta is the highest of these zones and is said to produce the best wine. Many wines have traditionally blended fruit from all three regions though there is a slow growth in single zone wines.

 

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